[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:85:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","climate",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"global",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","4d1dc68e238b3cbc4e8c30c13e66520b","Entry","2021-11-11T07:10:27.213Z","2024-05-27T14:40:02.526Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",349,118,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":36,"answers":37,"answersAsImages":57,"wrongPercentage":96,"name":97,"questionText":97,"shortQuestionText":97,"statistics":98,"veryWrongStatistics":107,"correctSentence":116,"youWereWrong":117,"youWereRight":118,"dataSourceShortText":119,"dataSourceLinkLongText":120,"extendedAnswerText":121,"headingVeryWrong":122,"youWereVeryWrong":117,"headingWrong":122},"85",[38,60,77],{"metadata":39,"sys":42,"fields":55},{"tags":40,"concepts":41},[],[],{"space":43,"id":45,"type":21,"createdAt":46,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":52,"locale":34},{"sys":44},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"db020aeecdac6da8d7e66cee9d492069","2021-11-11T06:55:58.052Z","2024-05-27T14:40:02.624Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},103,95,{"sys":53},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},"answer",{"globalId":56,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":59},"85-a1",false,true,"It decreases",{"metadata":61,"sys":64,"fields":74},{"tags":62,"concepts":63},[],[],{"space":65,"id":67,"type":21,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"environment":70,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":72,"locale":34},{"sys":66},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"9ff88596b4b0be2c36db71512038c035","2021-11-11T06:55:59.516Z","2024-05-27T14:40:02.660Z",{"sys":71},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":73},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":75,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":76},"85-a2","It stays the same",{"metadata":78,"sys":81,"fields":93},{"tags":79,"concepts":80},[],[],{"space":82,"id":84,"type":21,"createdAt":85,"updatedAt":86,"environment":87,"publishedVersion":89,"revision":90,"contentType":91,"locale":34},{"sys":83},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"a0a9413d453291bc540780ab4f9ef6a7","2021-11-11T06:56:01.157Z","2024-05-27T14:40:02.916Z",{"sys":88},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},106,96,{"sys":92},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":94,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":95},"85-a3","It keeps increasing",67,"What happens to the average global temperature if we halve the annual net emissions of CO2, today?",[99,100,101,102,103,104,105,106],"tur 0.84","ken 0.5437","col 0.802","pak 0.495","usa 0.63","uk 0.66","deu 0.67","swe 0.71",[108,109,110,111,112,113,114,115],"tur 0.61","ken 0.4563","col 0.6436","pak 0.3663","usa 0.31","uk 0.29","deu 0.26","swe 0.36","If we were to halve carbon net emissions today, the temperature would still keep increasing for decades.","As long as we emit any CO2 it keeps accumulating for many years, because the natural process for removing it is super slow, and we don’t have an effective way to capture it. Therefore, the temperature would keep increasing.","They have no idea how slow the natural process is at removing CO2 from the atmosphere.","Source: IPCC ","In this question when we write \"emissions\" we mean that as \"net emissions\", which is human emissions of greenhouse gases, minus how much is removed as a result of deliberate human activities. It is a well established scientific fact that it takes many years for CO2 (carbon dioxide) to leave the atmosphere. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the most authoritative scientific collaboration about climate change and discusses the time it takes for CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere and how that affects the average global temperature on page 642-643 of the Sixth Assessment Report[1]. The image below is from page 643 of the report and shows how CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and average surface temperature are projected to change in two diffrent scenarios: one with emissions continuing to increase and another with a large cut in emissions. \n\n![IMG 4508](\u002F\u002Fimages.ctfassets.net\u002Fghhpjogyw4x7\u002F4YxNEqsJbWde689Yr6dVLc\u002Fa6ff7c72f53a34c02a3662378a4a3cf1\u002FIMG_4508.jpg)\n\n[1]  [IPCC - Sixth Assessment Report (page 642)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ipcc.ch\u002Freport\u002Far6\u002Fwg1\u002Fdownloads\u002Freport\u002FIPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter04.pdf) \n","The amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere is similar to the amount of water in a bathtub – it depends on how much flows in and how much flows out. But when it comes to CO2 in the atmosphere, the outflow is extremely small. As long as we keep adding, the amount of CO2 keeps increasing, because very little CO2 gets removed. The small amount of CO2 that disappears every year is mostly dissolved into the oceans, and over millions of years the carbon can be captured in the forming of rocks. The extremely slow natural removal of CO2 is the reason why even if we cut our emissions in half, the temperature wouldn't stop increasing for two or three decades!\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?\nIf you don’t understand this, you can’t understand why all carbon emissions must eventually stop. Instead, you falsely believe the temperature will decline if only our emissions decline. You won’t understand why we need to stop using fossil fuels completely to stop global warming. Instead you think global warming can be stopped by using less fossil fuels. But in reality, the warming will continue as long as we use any fossil fuels.\n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nMost people don’t think of the atmosphere as a bathtub with CO2, but they should. Instead most people jump to the intuitive conclusion about how it works. They know that the global average temperature increased because CO2 levels increased because our emissions increased... and based on that it seems intuitive to think: if our emissions decrease, the CO2 concentration will decrease. But people wouldn’t make that mistake if they saw it as a bathtub. When a bathtub is spilling over, people realize they must turn off the water to stop the overflow. They realize that the water level doesn’t go down by just reducing the inflow. If too little water is exiting, the inflow must be turned off completely to stop the overflow.\n\n### Can I trust this fact?\nYes, it is a well established scientific fact that it takes many, many years for CO2 to leave the atmosphere. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the most authoritative scientific collaboration about climate change and discusses the time it takes for CO2 to be removed from the atmosphere and the effect that has on the average surface temperature on [page 642 of the Sixth Assessment Report.](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ipcc.ch\u002Freport\u002Far6\u002Fwg1\u002Fdownloads\u002Freport\u002FIPCC_AR6_WGI_Chapter04.pdf)\n\n### What do you mean by ‘removed from the atmosphere’?\nThis is something that at first glance might be regarded as complex, but it is only a matter of timescales. When a tree absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, that carbon becomes part of that tree and is removed from the atmosphere for maybe 100 years. \n\n100 years is a long time from a human perspective but it is nothing compared to the tens of thousands and millions of years on which many geological processes operate. \n\nWhen the tree dies after 100 years, or is consumed in a forest fire before then, the carbon is released from the tree and re-enters the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. \n\nWhat we mean when we say “removed from the atmosphere” in this question, is the very slow process that requires carbon to find its way down the ocean floor and be buried there.\n","A little more, means increase"]